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French Government to Cover Cost of All Abortions After Proposal Passes

Lawmakers in France have voted to pass legislation that would allow full government financing of abortions.

The French National Assembly on Oct. 26 voted to allow full government coverage of both surgical and chemical abortions for 2013, according to AFP.

The French Senate, which is controlled by the Socialist Party and led by President Francois Hollande, is expected to allow both proposals in the coming weeks.

"This news is doubly troubling … Obviously the policy will increase the number of unborn lives lost. That's the first tragedy," C. Ben Mitchell, professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., told Baptist Press.

Experts predict that should the proposals become law, it would cost roughly $17.5 million each year to pay for the abortions, but could increase to as high as $40 million if the government follows through on a plan put forth by the country's health minister.

"The second [tragedy] is that France now has a negative replacement rate. The number of native French is shrinking. Yet the Muslim population is growing rapidly. The future of France will increasingly look less like Paris and more like Islamabad," Mitchell added.

To cover the expense, a new tax on retirees will be implemented so as to avoid adding to the French health care system's $30 billion deficit, according to Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, in a report published in National Review Online.

Estimates show that each year in France there are 225,000 abortions, even with reports showing that 95 percent of sexually active women use contraception, according to AFP.

The assembly also approved governmental coverage of all contraceptives for girls between 15 and 18 years old, including contraceptives that can induce abortions.

"Women who want to stop an unwanted pregnancy have the right to be covered: The enactment of the right to choose to halt a pregnancy is an obligatory state service," the bill read according to AP.